2016 U.S. Open Cup schedule

I missed the 1st half of the LAG game, but caught the 2nd half. They should have won in regulation, despite playing down a man because of a stupid red card by Rafa Garcia, but poor finishing sent the game into OT. Their 2nd goal was strange. Villarreal was laying on the ground, and everyone else was milling about, I guess waiting for a trainer. Meanwhile, the ref had never blown a whistle, so Husidic teed the ball up and sent it to Romney, who scored the easiest goal. Of course the La Maquina players were all over the ref, but after that the LAG superior fitness led to two more goals.

 

This is always a point of discussion when all teams from one level get eliminated. I have it that Kitsap had already clinched the prize money. The results (winner bolded, opponent's league in color):

• May 11, La Maquina (USASA) [2:0] Portland Timbers U23s (PDL)
• May 18, Sacramento Gold (NPSL) [0:2] La Maquina (USASA)
• June 1, Los Angeles Wolves (USASA) [0:2] La Maquina (USASA)
• June 14, La Maquina (USASA) [1:4 (AET)] Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)

• May 18, Seattle Sounders U23s (PDL) [0:1] Kitsap Pumas (PDL)
• June 1, Kitsap Pumas (PDL) [3:1] Sacramento Republic (USL)
• June 15, 10:30, Kitsap Pumas (PDL) -at- Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)

The key is that La Maquina only defeated teams at their level (amateur teams). Kitsap already has a win against a team at a higher level. So by the rules, Kitsap has it.

 

Here's the 4th round update of my ever popular* league ELO rankings.

*not at all true

Some basic info, for those who want it:
1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and what is now NASL used to be USL D-1, and the A League before it. Similarly for all the other levels.
2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions.
3. The actual results used are as follows:
a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored
b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored
c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie.
4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so.
5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7.
6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded.

Round	MLS	NASL	USL	PDL	NPSL	USASA/etc
2015	1800	1580	1612	1343	1302	1362
R1	1800	1580	1612	1344	1304	1358
R2	1800	1580	1605	1360	1292	1362
R3	1800	1603	1577	1372	1289	1359
R4	1801	1606	1575	1371	1289	1359

Pretty much no changes at all this round, only minor shifting. 13 of the 15 MLS teams that faced non-MLS opposition advanced, but with a decent amount of extra time and PK games. The two non-MLS teams which advanced are both NASL teams, out of the 7 total NASL teams in this round.

The ratings for the USL, PDL, NPSL, and USASA are all final for the year, as no more teams from these leagues/associations are still in the tournament.

 

U.S. Open Cup, Results:
FOURTH ROUND
June 15 in Chester, Pa.
Philadelphia Union (MLS) 3 (Restrepo 3, Alberg 45+1, 90+3)
Harrisburg City Islanders (USL) 2 (Foster 79, Warshaw 90+1).
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Bronx, N.Y.
New York City FC (MLS) 0
New York Cosmos (NASL) 1 (Szetela 88).
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus Crew (MLS) 4 (Meram 41, Martinez 48, Finlay 52 pen., Hollingsworth 65)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) 0.
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Rochester, N.Y.
Rochester Rhinos (USL) 0
New York Red Bulls (MLS) 1 (Kljestan 20),
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville Armada (NASL) 0
Orlando City SC (MLS) 1 (Mateos 62).
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 inCary, N.C.
Carolina RailHawks (NASL) 0
New England Revolution (MLS) 1 (Herivaux 104).
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Bridgeview, Ill.
Chicago Fire (MLS) 1 (Accam 111)
Indy Eleven (NASL) 1 (Braun 105).
(Chicago Fire wins 4-3 on penalties.)
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Boyds, Md.
D.C. United (MLS) 0
Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) 0.
(Fort Lauderdale Strikers win 4-3 on penalties.)
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Blaine, Minn.
Minnesota United FC (NASL) 1 (Ramirez 81 pen.)
Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 2 (Feilhaber 65 pen., Rubio 109).
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Dallas, Texas
FC Dallas (MLS) 2 (Lizarazo 36, 45)
OKC Energy FC (USL) 2 (Rideout 26, Thomas 90).
(FC Dallas wins 6-5 on penalties.)
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Houston, Texas
Houston Dynamo (MLS) 4 (Manotas 39, Alex 4+, Rodriguez 60, Miranda 66)
San Antonio FC (USL) 0.
------------------------------------------------------
June 15 in Tukwila, Wash.
Seattle Sounders (MLS) 2 (Roldan 71, J.Jones 90+1)
Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 0.

June 14 in Commerce City, Colo.
Colorado Rapids (MLS) 1 (Serna 84)
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (USL) 0.
------------------------------------------------------
June 14 in Sandy, Utah
Real Salt Lake (MLS) 2 (Plata 65, Martinez 87)
Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) 2 (Corboz 34, Moose 58).
(Real Salt Lake wins 3-1 on penalties.)
------------------------------------------------------
June 14 in Portland, Ore.
Portland Timbers (MLS) 2 (Asprilla 35, McInerney 40)
San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 0.
------------------------------------------------------
June 14 in Carson, Calif.
LA Galaxy (MLS) 4 (Villarreal 15, Romney 96, Lletget pen. 105, 115)
La Maquina (UPSL) 1 (Borboa 28).

 

And the remaining schedule, after today's draw (QF, SF, F dates may be Tue or Wed; times for the R-16 are U.S. Eastern; host listed first for the R-16 and QF):

• Tue, Jun 28, 2016, 8:30 PM, Chicago Fire *MLS -v- Columbus Crew SC *MLS, LHUSOC, R-16, Central
• Tue, Jun 28, 2016, 10:00 PM, Real Salt Lake *MLS -v- Seattle Sounders FC *MLS, West, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 7:00 PM, Philadelphia Union *MLS -v- New York Red Bulls *MLS, East, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 7:30 PM, New York Cosmos *NASL -v- New England Revolution *MLS, East, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 7:30 PM, Orlando City SC *MLS -v- Fort Lauderdale Strikers *NASL, Central, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 8:30 PM, FC Dallas *MLS -v- Colorado Rapids *MLS, Plains, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 8:30 PM, Houston Dynamo *MLS -v- Sporting Kansas City *MLS, Plains, LHUSOC, R-16
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016, 10:30 PM, Portland Timbers *MLS -v- LA Galaxy *MLS, West, LHUSOC, R-16

• Tue, Jul 19, 2016, [Chicago Fire *MLS -v- Columbus Crew SC *MLS] -hosts- [Orlando City SC *MLS -v- Fort Lauderdale Strikers *NASL], Central, LHUSOC, QF
• Tue, Jul 19, 2016, [Houston Dynamo *MLS -v- Sporting Kansas City *MLS] -hosts- [FC Dallas *MLS -v- Colorado Rapids *MLS], Plains, LHUSOC, QF
• Tue, Jul 19, 2016, [New York Cosmos *NASL -v- New England Revolution *MLS] -hosts- [Philadelphia Union *MLS -v- New York Red Bulls *MLS], East, LHUSOC, QF
• Tue, Jul 19, 2016, [Portland Timbers *MLS -v- LA Galaxy *MLS] -hosts- [Real Salt Lake *MLS -v- Seattle Sounders FC *MLS], West, LHUSOC, QF

• Tue, Aug 9, 2016, [New York Cosmos *NASL -v- New England Revolution *MLS -v- Philadelphia Union *MLS -v- New York Red Bulls *MLS] -hostTBA- [Chicago Fire *MLS -v- Columbus Crew SC *MLS -v- Orlando City SC *MLS -v- Fort Lauderdale Strikers *NASL], LHUSOC, SF
• Tue, Aug 9, 2016, [Houston Dynamo *MLS -v- Sporting Kansas City *MLS -v- FC Dallas *MLS -v- Colorado Rapids *MLS] -hostTBA- [Portland Timbers *MLS -v- LA Galaxy *MLS -v- Real Salt Lake *MLS -v- Seattle Sounders FC *MLS], LHUSOC, SF

• Wed, Sep 21, 2016, [New York Cosmos *NASL -v- New England Revolution *MLS -v- Philadelphia Union *MLS -v- New York Red Bulls *MLS -v- Chicago Fire *MLS -v- Columbus Crew SC *MLS -v- Orlando City SC *MLS -v- Fort Lauderdale Strikers *NASL] -hostTBA- [Houston Dynamo *MLS -v- Sporting Kansas City *MLS -v- FC Dallas *MLS -v- Colorado Rapids *MLS -v- Portland Timbers *MLS -v- LA Galaxy *MLS -v- Real Salt Lake *MLS -v- Seattle Sounders FC *MLS], LHUSOC, F

 

TheCup.us
@usopencup
8h
FYI: @KitsapPumas won the $15K Div. 4 (amateur) #USOC2016 prize money
but they are the only pro team in @USLPDL (i.e. no ncaa players)

 

http://www.socceramerica.com/articl...g-fire-and-sounders-triump.html?edition=15775

Chicago Fire 2 Columbus Crew 1

Real Salt Lake 1 Seattle Sounders 1
(Seattle Sounders win 4-1 on kicks from the spot)

 

Here's the 5th round update of my ever popular* league ELO rankings.

*not at all true

Some basic info, for those who want it:
1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and what is now NASL used to be USL D-1, and the A League before it. Similarly for all the other levels.
2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions.
3. The actual results used are as follows:
a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored
b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored
c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie.
4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so.
5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7.
6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded.

Round	MLS	NASL	USL	PDL	NPSL	USASA/etc
2015	1800	1580	1612	1343	1302	1362
R1	1800	1580	1612	1344	1304	1358
R2	1800	1580	1605	1360	1292	1362
R3	1800	1603	1577	1372	1289	1359
R4	1801	1606	1575	1371	1289	1358
R5	1794	1613	1575	1371	1289	1358

NASL gets a small boost this round, on the back of Ft. Lauderdale's win. Only MLS and NASL rankings can change from here on out. NASL has a much bigger upside than a downside (and vice versa for MLS), because all wins by an NASL side are against a team of higher rank, and worth a lot, but wins by an MLS side are expected, so not worth much.

Note: Small correction on USASA's score in R4.

 

Just to point out a bit of irony (using this as a news-and-notes thread): in case you missed the news, an NWSL women's game was moved to a micro-sized pitch, getting a lot of criticism. Isn't it interesting that a year or two ago, USSF gave out forfeits for having qualifying matches on small-sized fields. So they staunchly defended field sizes for their men's knockout tournament, then pulls a brain-freeze on this one.
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/nwsl-general-info-comments-news.1981032/page-201#post-34307649

 

According to the USSF professional league standards (which apply to both men's and women's professional leagues), fields must be at least 70 yds in width, and and 110 yds long.

http://www.kenn.com/the_blog/?page_id=5449

Unless NWSL has been given a waiver for field size, USSF definitely has a say in whether a field of this size should be allowed.

 

http://www.socceramerica.com/articl...strikers-carry-nasl-banner.html?edition=15868

NASL's Ft. Lauderdale Strikers play the Chicago Fire, winner of four Open Cup titles.

U.S. Open Cup Championships:
4 Chicago Fire
4 Seattle Sounders
2 LA Galaxy
1 FC Dallas
1 New England Revolution

Ft. Lauderdale had never beaten an MLS team going back to its days as Miami FC, before beating D.C. United in a shootout and Orlando City with a dramatic 2-1 win in overtime. The Strikers, suffering from cash-flow issues, have not won a game since the Orlando City game, losing their last three game and going winless in its first four matches of the NASL’s fall season. They had gone 4-0-1 to get back in the NASL spring race before finishing 4-3-3, three points off the lead.

 

#USOC2016 QFINALS: @ChicagoFire 3:0 @FTLStrikers - #CF97GOAL by Khaly Thiam in 52nd min

 

Here's the final update of my ever popular* league ELO rankings.

*not at all true

Some basic info, for those who want it:
1. These rankings use all USOC games since 1996 to determine the relative strengths of the leagues. The names used below just represent the current names of leagues at that level. In reality the leagues have changed around a lot, and what is now NASL used to be USL D-1, and the A League before it. Similarly for all the other levels.
2. There are bound to be mistakes back in the history, but the beauty of ELO rankings is that they are self-correcting over time, so the "actual strengths" probably aren't too far off from this right now, even with errors in older competitions.
3. The actual results used are as follows:
a. Game finishes in regulation with a result: goals scored
b. Game finishes after extra time with a result: goals scored
c. Game goes to penalty kicks: goals scored before the penalty kicks. The game is "recorded" as a tie.
4. A home team has its rating raised by 100, and the change in ratings for each of the teams is calculated based on the result of the game, and the relative difference between the two ratings. This means that currently, we would expect an NASL team hosting an MLS team to be slightly in favor of the MLS team, but not significantly so.
5. The average change in score for any individual game is about 7. This means that one league goes up by 7, and the other down by 7.
6. There is no way to account for the fact that many MLS teams play 'B' or 'C' sides in the first few rounds they participate. I can only base it on the teams fielded.

Round	MLS	NASL	USL	PDL	NPSL	USASA/etc
2015	1800	1580	1612	1343	1302	1362
R1	1800	1580	1612	1344	1304	1358
R2	1800	1580	1605	1360	1292	1362
R3	1800	1603	1577	1372	1289	1359
R4	1801	1606	1575	1371	1289	1358
R5	1794	1613	1575	1371	1289	1358
2016	1798	1609	1575	1371	1289	1358

With Chicago eliminating Ft. Lauderdale, only MLS teams remain in the competition, meaning that these ratings are now final. MLS stands pat on the year, with NASL gaining *very* slightly on them. NASL also broke back above USL. PDL closed a little bit of the gap up to the professional divisions, while USASA stood pat, and NPSL dropped yet further.

 

oh no please say it ain't so...to both of your statements!

U.S. Open Cup Schedule:
Semifinals
Aug. 9
New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire
Aug. 10
LA Galaxy vs. FC Dallas
Note: Venues to be announced on Thursday
Final: Sept. 21

http://www.socceramerica.com/articl...evs-and-fc-dallas-win-late.html?edition=15874

 

Ahh, I see the confusion. This is the final one for 2016, I intend to return next year, but who knows, as that is 9 months away.

 

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/u-s-open-cup-semifinals-preview-52248/

New England Revolution
vs.
Chicago Fire
Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2

LA Galaxy
vs.
FC Dallas
Wednesday at 10 p.m. on ESPN2

 

sadly...he isn't wrong:

http://www.firsttouchonline.com/why-isnt-the-us-open-cup-a-big-deal/

With a 4-2 win over New England Revolution on a hot Tuesday night in Frisco, Texas, FC Dallas claimed the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The Open Cup, now having completed its 103rd edition, resides in a very strange place within a sport and culture in America that itself has an odd place all its own; the USOC is a dark corner of the creepiest room of an abandoned insane asylum. It is a relic that everyone loves but nobody cares about. The monument nobody visits, yet everyone protests the plans to knock it down and build something useful there. It gently nestles into a spot where it can serve as everything to everyone and nothing to anybody.